The next step to the dynabook will be cellular or RF portables. Researchers at Columbia University have already built three different portables called PIPs (Personal Information Portals) that communicate using cellular radio [25,26]. Since April 1991 they have achieved bandwidths of 2 megabytes per second over spread-spectrum radios.
The only two remaining technical advances needed to make dynabooks a reality are improved screen resolution and computer power. Current liquid-crystal displays are too low resolution for comfortable reading over extended periods and in strong sunlight, and portables are not yet powerful enough to accomplish all the above dynabook functions.
But both obstacles will be overcome by 1996. Computer power will not be a problem, but high resolution could remain an issue for several years, perhaps as many as 5. There already are CRT screens of high enough resolution to rival paper (300 dpi or higher), but they are expensive. After packing enough computer power into a portable and improving its screen resolution enough to rival paper, it only remains to bring its price within reach of the general population. That should take another 5 years.